Pop's Z

My 2 year old granddaughter likes to go for "rides" in the garage in mine. She " drives" for a while the wants me to "drive". We put the seat belts on, too. She loves to turn the lights on and off, put the radio antenna up and down and look through the glove box. Also loves to get in the back and hang out. When I had my car gone for some work she came into the garage and gave me the "look"..." Grampa, where's my car?" I was thinking of selling it, but I'm not so sure now. Another Z car generation. Gotta love it. Cheers, Mike

The problem with ignoring a main seal leak is you will be replacing the clutch disc as it will start slipping...ask me how I know. Just got done replacing clutch, resurfacing flywheel, and main seal...and unfortunately I'm seeing a small drip in my drip pan in the place under the trans/engine join...sigh. It is very difficult to properly set the main seal without the right sized seal setter tool. It gets cocked-off to one side or the other. Just sayin'....... Cheers, Mike

When I first got my Z from the original owner it had a hard time going into reverse, also. I readjusted the clutch pedal to floor measurement to the factory settings and the problem went away. It was just a small amount of distance to the firewall/floorboard off, but it made all the difference. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

Like everyone else here, I stand in awe of your skills, determination, and abilities, sir! I've never seen a Zed brought back from the dead as well as this. Good on ya'. Cheers, Mike

+1 on the use of a lift. That's what I did, very difficult, but not impossible without a lift. I had the use of one and the owner of it to help. Still a 2 day job as I had to have the flywheel resurfaced. I just didn't want to go through the hassle of draining and removing the rad. and unhooking /rehooking everything. Just lazy, I guess. Remember to either drain the trans or use some sort of plug or you will cover your floor and possibly yourself with stinky trans lube. We use a front part of a damaged driveshaft that we removed the u-joint from...works perfectly. You will still have to remove the driveshaft, sway bar (if you have a rear bar), and the exhaust pipe. My header was in the way and we finally had to remove it, so I didn't save that much time and hassle by not R&R-ing the engine/trans as a unit. Have fun. Cheers, Mike

My side seals are original and were not leaking..."if it ain't broke". The main seal was just seeping and when I pulled the tranny off, I thought it might be the front trans seal, but the oil was oil and not the Redline tranny lube. You really can smell the difference. I actually thought that I was imagining things. Even the clutch disc looked OK, but I finally found some oily residue on the pressure plate. I also cleaned up the disc and the pressure plate with some solvent and that's when I saw the burned oil. My clutch only slipped at higher rpms, but when it did it had all the classic symptoms: lots of roar, but no go to match. Have fun. I did. Cheers, Mike

Re: flex fans...I had one on a Datsun 2000 roadster. They are incredibly noisy! I would never have one on a car I owned again. At the time I was just being cheap and didn't want to pony up for a new fan clutch. Also, it didn't cool that well. Cheers, Mike

My rear engine seal started leaking, and I tried to ignore it. After a few thousand miles my clutch started to slip. Oh well. R&Red the tranny, left the motor in place, replaced the rear main seal (twice, don't ask), had the flywheel resurfaced, installed new Centerforce clutch disc/pressure plate, pilot bearing, T/O bearing. Everything is OK now. The rear main seal is easy to booger up so be careful. Cheers, Mike

I'm so sorry for your loss. My '73 is insured with Hagerty for $18K, 90,000 original miles. Her insurance co. will fight you hard for their money. They will try to undervalue it so be prepared to lawyer up. Get hold of your insurance co., too. You are going to be doing battle with her insurance co. FWIW, my son is a trial lawyer in Boulder. He owns a '77 Porsche SC and he would be worth a call. He loves to do battle with insurance companies. PM me and I'll give you his info. BTW, I've been thinking about selling my car. If you are interested let me know. Perhaps we can work something out. Cheers, Mike

Is that Andy Devine? As Jingles..."come on Wild Bill, wait for me." I realize that anyone on this site under the age of about 68 will not have the slightest idea of what I am referring to. If you damage a body part you will whack it again multiple times so you get the message...about sitting on the couch with a cold IPA in hand. Cheers, Old and In the way, Mike

Thanks for the quick reply, Rich. I really like the way they look. I think I will try to replicate the old-school mag look on mine utilizing rattle cans. Cheers, Mike

That should bolt right up. If you carefully look to the right about 3" and down 1" from where the throttle rod comes through the firewall there is a marked place for the shorter cables to go through the firewall. Sort of a stamped circle that matches the rubber piece that brings the cables through the firewall. You will have to use a hole saw to open it up and put a rubber plug in the old hole, but it's do-able. I did it and believe me the shorter cables will prevent broken choke lever handles. Be sure your console isn't broken where the lever mount is. If it is you will need to repair it and make a metal plate to reinforce it. See the videos by Z Therapy. They have one for just this repair. I did this repair also as the long cables in the '73/'74's ended up getting gunked up and became very hard to operate causing the console to break where the lever assembly was screwed in to it. There is also an alternative way to mount the lever assembly to the trans. tunnel under the console. Search the threads here and you will find it. Have fun. Cheers, Mike

Hey Rich, What coating did you use on the center spokes on the wheels on the yellow car? They sort of look like the old-school EMPI wheels I had on my first Zed back in '75. I've currently got shiny silver-painted centers on my Rota RBs and would like to re-create that center spoke mag look. Time machine stuff... Cheers, Mike

Marty, you made my point. Yes, opening the hood even just a crack on the latch allows the fire to escape the confines of the engine compartment usually accompanied by a big "whoosh" of fire. It's sort of like a chimney effect. Cheers, Mike

The last two Sundays have been spent replacing the clutch due to slipping caused by a leaking rear crankshaft seal. It was a fairly minor leak, but it caused the disc to slip at higher rpms. It took two Sundays as I just can't do the physical work without stopping to rest and recuperate. Fortunately for me my friend Kenny (kens240Z) has a fully equipped shop with a lift and another pair of younger hands. Finished up yesterday and the new Centerforce works great.. Cheers, Mike

I am a retired firefighter and have been on many car fires. Rule #1: Get out of the car and move away. Rule #2: call 911. Rule #3: DO NOT OPEN THE HOOD! I cannot emphasize this enough. You will let oxygen in and the fire will literally quadruple in size almost instantly, almost explosively possibly burning the crap out of you. You will not see the firefighters open the hood until they have sprayed water or foam through the radiator. Our operating guidelines required full turnout gear AND breathing apparatus for ALL car fires. If you must try to save your car and firefighting professionals are not near and you have access to a dry powder fire extinguisher, aim it through the radiator in the front of the car, but be prepared to get the hell out of the way. I have seen several small car fire scene turned into a major medical trauma by a good Samaritan opening the hood of a car on fire. Also, remember that electrical fires are the hardest ones to put out unless you have access to a CO2 or Halon extinguisher. Your life and the possibility of painful, debilitating burns are NOT worth trying to save a piece of machinery. I love my Zed, but if it's on fire I will call the pros or let it burn. Here's one more reason to let it burn: a fire in the engine room or electrical fire inside will probably end up being a total write-off anyway, so call your insurance company. Be safe people. Cheers, Mike

I know it's weird, but those DO look like Toyota brakes...mounted bassackwards. I said it was weird, Cheers, Mike

Very, very nice! Sorry to miss it. Been to three of them. Maybe next year......... Cheers, Mike

Well, before you do that, there was a guy making them a number of years ago and I bought one to do this. I put decent speakers in there, BUT the sound was very disappointing...kind of "boomy" and it rattled the plastic panels making them buzz. Also that layout kind of canceled the sound from the speakers out. If you laid your head between them it was OK, but in real life not so much. When I re-did my interior I removed them and got a speaker panel from MSA for the rear utilizing 6X9s (JVCs). It was much better. I then added a pair of Rockford Fosgate 5 1/4s to the kick panels using Derek's plastic panels. I finished the speaker system off with a pair of Sony tweeters glued to the eyeball vents. Nice sound. BUT above 70 mph the wind noise cancels it all out no matter how loud you play the tunes, so that's just one man's experience. Cheers, Mike

Today, I completed the return of my R-180 4:11 diffy and speedo cog. I tried a 3:54 for fewer highway rpms, but lost my great power band. I had to shift a lot more in the twisties, but the killers were the front seal leaked, and it whined at speed even with Red-Line gear lube. So out with the new and in with the old. Driveshaft nuts/lockwashers have to be the worst job for old fingers to do. I really need an articulated forefinger. Next project: remove and repair front fenders. Cheers, Mike

Not having any hubcaps to use, I used the stick-on ones from MSA. Fit perfectly with no hassles. Have stayed on for 3 years. Just another way to get the "Z" on the wheels. Cheers, Mike

Hi Dave, Nice to see you on here again. My headlight and parking light harnesses are working perfectly. Thanks again for a great product. People should happily pay you for them and not try to get you to give them all your secrets. Cheers, Mike

Haz, I put a 4:11 R 180 from a 200SX in mine. Loved the acceleration, especially in 3rd and 4th. Then I decided to replace it with a 3:54 for lower rpms at higher speeds. BIG mistake. Way too much shifting in the canyons and twisties. So, I will go back to the 4:11 when the garage floor warms up a bit more. Yes, the rpms are higher with the lower gearing, but I don't drive it at those high speeds over 90 much any more, and I do drive the canyons and twisties. My friend, Kenny, has a 3:90 R 180 from a Datsun pickup front axle and I can pull him just barely. Some on here have done the Subaru LSD 3:90 swap and are happy with it, but it possibly involves new half shafts and adapters...too much for me. Just sayin' Cheers, Mike

I used Q-pads in my interior to replace the old tar mat. They are close to original, but have a shiny surface finish. I don't remember if the original tar mat was shiny or dull. You will need a some kind of roller to install them to get all the nooks and crannies stuck down. I also put some in the doors to quiet things down and that worked well. The doors "thunk" when closing rather than the tinny sound of stock. Cheers, mike

They are also available at MSA, but for a lot more $$. 2011? Good luck. Cheers, Mike